The amount of methamphetamine or "meth" use in the Upper Peninsula has been on the rise in a community unaware of how to report such a dangerous drug.

Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) Lt. Detective Tim Sholander said Allegan County started as the meth capital of the state. Allegan County, southwest Michigan, held 80 percent of the meth labs in Michigan in 2003.

Many users learned to make meth there, and the skills eventually branched off to the Upper Peninsula.

According to Sholander, the number of meth labs has substantially jumped since 2008 when there were only seven meth labs in the Upper Peninsula.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. -
Authorities detonated one of several suspicious packages that were brought to El Paso County's Charlie Brown Transportation and Environment Complex on Thursday evening.

Access to El Paso County's Charlie Brown Transportation and Environment Complex at 3200 Akers Drive was closed off while authorities investigated what they called a possibly explosive material.

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office says that the closure was strictly precautionary. The material was dropped off at the facility on Thursday afternoon.

Hazmat crews safely detonated what they called the most suspicious package around 6 p.m. Thursday. And they will not be able to identify the substance.

Officials tell our crew at the scene that they will continue to investigate the remaining suspicious substances. Authorities say they do know who dropped off the products but will not reveal that information.

The complex is where people can bring in cleaning products and other materials they wish to dispose of safely.

SHERBROOKE, Que. -- Rescuers found two bodies in the rubble of a chemical plant gutted by an explosion in Quebec's Eastern Townships on Thursday.

One survivor was pulled from the rubble of the Neptune Technologies and Bioresources plant in Sherbrooke, Que., after a blast rocked the building around 1:30 p.m.

"We had just finished lunch, we were about to go back out when we were told to evacuate," said one employee. "Then it exploded ... the ceiling fell on my head."

Nineteen people were injured, including four who were airlifted to a Montreal hospital with severe burns. Witnesses said some workers were burned from head to toe.

Officials said a fire ignited 15,000 litres of acetone, a common ingredient in cleaning agents and paint thinners.

"The company does extraction with acetone, a highly flammable solvent," former plant employee Pascal Filion told QMI Agency.

"A small spark can cause an explosion, it's like gasoline."

The blast was so powerful that walls collapsed and windows were blown out. By mid-afternoon, firefighters were busy looking for other possible victims, but the unstable state of the building slowed their work.

A warehouse containing dangerous chemicals in the eastern Jutland town of Horsens caught fire late on Wednesday night, leading police to warn all local residents to stay indoors with the doors and windows shut, public broadcaster DR reports.

Police say that some 600 square metres of the Tegee Dan Syd warehouse, which sells products such as auto care products, is on fire. The fire started at roughly 9:30pm, and there is no word on its cause.

"It's really burning heavily out there," Lars Peter Madsen from the southern Jutland police force told DR. "We encourage people to stay inside if they live nearby. The smoke can be dangerous."

Upwards of 35 firemen are currently battling the blaze, which is expected to continue for the next several hours.

No injuries have been reported, but police are encouraging people in the area to seek medical attention if they feel discomfort, nausea or a headache.

Police divers are searching for the driver of a truck that crashed on State Highway One in the central North Island this morning, sparking a radiation and chemical scare.
....
There were fears the vehicle may have been carrying radioactive material due to a warning sign on the truck and trailer unit.

But Nigel Richards, the Fire Service Assistant Area Commander, confirmed there were no radioactive materials on board.
....
Its emergency response manager, Rob Dragten, said there was little prospect of a "widespread or ongoing problem for aquatic life, stock or people" from the swimming pool cleaner and insecticide among the truck's 45 tonnes of general cargo.

Three drums of swimming pool acid fell into the stream and one of them remained missing, said Dragten.

Nov. 06--Eight people were injured in an explosion Tuesday afternoon after a tank leaked and ignited a fire at a propane distribution company near Conroe.

Montgomery County firefighters responded to AmeriGas at 10985 FM 1485 near Waukegan Road after an explosion was reported about noon, according to a dispatcher at the sheriff's office.

Two of the injured were flown via Life Flight to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in critical condition. Six others were transported by ambulance to Conroe Regional Medical Center and Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital, according to the Montgomery County Fire Marshal's Office.

The resulting flash fire was brought under control in about 15 minutes.

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